Thursday, February 28, 2013

On her inauguration day, President Park Geun-hye was seen wearing five outfits.

While
Park cannot be charged guilty of vanity for changing so frequently ―
each event did call for attire appropriate for the occasion ― those who
had looked forward to a fashion moment or two from the country’s first
female president were largely let down.

Wearing a lightly padded
coat to the Seoul National Cemetery was a fashion faux-pas: Such a
solemn occasion calls for a classic long coat, in wool or cashmere.

The
olive green jacket with gold buttons that flared slightly from the
waist worn at the swearing-in ceremony recalled for many her late
father, a former general who seized power in a coup. If the intention
was to elicit nostalgia for father Park Chung-hee who modernized Korea,
the new president succeeded, for the military allusion of the jacket was
not lost.

Style-wise, however, this outfit was not flattering.
The lavender scarf and the purple butterfly brooch, perhaps an attempt
to soften the harsh look of the jacket, were just confusing. The
jacket-coat was too casual for the momentous occasion.

The red
long coat and blue skirt hanbok ensemble shown at Gwanghwamun Plaza was
more flashy than stately, but captured the festive mood of the event,
though the reference to the national flag was perhaps too obvious.

The
intense color of the deep red hanbok worn at the banquet seemed to
overpower Park. A more regal look could have been achieved with a modern
silhouette. Park could take a few pointers from her late mother, who
wore hanbok most elegantly.

Theater troupes present
shows featuring turbulent periods of modern Korean history in the
month of March 1 Independence Movement Day

The month of March opens here with the March 1 Independence Movement
Day, a national holiday dedicated to commemorating the 1919 nationwide
uprising against Japan’s colonization.

The uprising, known as
the March 1st Independence Movement, was one of the earliest public
displays of Korean resistance against Japanese rule ― which ended in
1945 at the end of World War II.

This month, Seoul’s theater
scene is presenting a number of plays featuring the turbulent period of
Korean history. One of them is “Red Poetry” by Theater Company Gorae.
The play deftly links the controversial suicide of the actress Jang
Ja-yeon in 2009 to the stories of elderly women who were forced to be
sex slaves for the Japanese military during World War II.

A promotional image of Theater Company Gorae’s “Red Poetry” (Theater Company Gorae)

Jang,
who had just starred in the TV drama series “Boys over Flowers” at the
time, killed herself leaving a seven-page handwritten note claiming she
had been sexually and physically abused by high-profile media
executives.

The play is being told from the perspective of
fictional character Dong-ju (played by Kim Dong-wan), a reporter who is
deeply disturbed by the sudden death of a popular actress, a stand-in
for the late Jang. The story unfolds as he goes to the next world
through a mistake by the angel of death, and meets up with the actress
as well as the former sex slaves who still seek an apology from Japan.

“The victims in the play repeatedly emphasize the importance of speaking out,” said the troupe’s promoter.

“This
play strongly believes in the power of words, as well as speaking out.
The two cases that appear in the play may seem like they have no
relevance to each other, but they do. Those who committed the violence
never properly apologized, and many of us, the public, still remain
silent about what happened.”

Meanwhile, another local troupe,
Mirage Kaleidoscope, is presenting “Flying of a Bee,” which delves into
the Act on the Punishment of Anti-national Activities, established in
September 1948 to punish pro-Japanese collaborators during the Japanese
colonial rule. The act, however, was suspended by South Korea’s first
president Syngman Rhee’s regime ― just before the Korean War in March
1950. Rhee also suspended the execution of those who had been found
guilty.

“The Syngman Rhee government found itself having to
respond to the division into two Koreas by crafting a strong state that
could play an active role in the establishment and maintenance of a
powerful anticommunist system,” writes local scholar Oh Il-hwan, in his
2011 paper “Anticommunism and the National Identity of Korea in the
Contemporary Era: With a Special Focus on the USAMGIK and Syngman Rhee
Government Periods” published in the Review of Korean Studies in 2011.

“Here,
administrative officials and policemen who had gained valuable
experience during the Japanese colonial period would inevitably have
been perceived as useful resources through which to secure such
objectives. … Under such circumstances, the Act on the Punishment of
Anti-national Activities in 1948 to weed out pro-Japanese elements could
only be regarded by Syngman Rhee as a proverbial thorn in his side.”

“Flying
of a Bee” features the court trials of Bae Joeng-ja (1870-1952), a
Korean-born woman who was raised as the adopted daughter of Ito Hirobumi
(1841-1909), who served as Resident-General of Korea during the
Japanese colonial period. He was assassinated by Korean nationalist An
Jung-geun in 1909.

Bae worked with Ito Hirobumi as a spy for the
annexation of Korea by Japan, and became the first female pro-Japanese
collaborator to be arrested by the law enacted in 1948. She was released
upon the suspension of the law in 1950. The spy has been featured in a
number of local films, Jeong In-yeob’s 1973 biopic “Femme Fatale: Bae
Jeong-ja” and Jang Yoon-hyun’s period drama “Gabi” from last year which
dealt with the death of King Gojong (1852-1919).

“We did not
create this play to punish Bae,” said the play’s director Ryu
Seong-cheol. “It’s more about those we could not ― or chose not to ―
make the just decisions about history of the period.”

Meanwhile,
homegrown musical “The Goddess is Watching” concerns itself with the
Korean War (1950-1953) and its brutality. Created by local troupe Stage
Yeonwoo, the show takes place on a remote island during the war. It
tells the story of six different soldiers, some members of the North
Korean army, who end up living together on the uninhabited island after a
shipwreck.

The plot develops as a solider named Soon-ho, the
only member of the group who knows how to fix the ship, suffers from
severe post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing his brother’s
death in a battle. Another member of the group named Young-beom creates a
story of a beautiful goddess to console Soon-ho and ease his fragile
mental state.

“Everything that happens in the show is
fictional,” said the director Park So-young. “The goddess does not
indicate an actual person or a spiritual being, but symbolizes the
universal femininity. We believed that it can bring an immense healing
and empowering effect in extremely violent and devastating situations
like the war in our history.”

“The Goddess is Watching” runs
until March 10 at Chungmu Art Hall in central Seoul, while “Flying of a
Bee” also runs until March 10 at Kijakeun Sonamu (Little Pines) Theater
in Daehangno, Seoul.

“Red Poetry,” on the other hand, runs from March 22 to March 31 at Daehangno Art Theater, also in Seoul’s Daehangno district.

Koreans
have long coveted the Nobel Prize in Literature as poet Ko Un has been
nominated for it over the past few years. The hope has created a media
frenzy in which journalists wait for the annual prize announcement in
front of Ko’s house. Ko might be arguably the most well-known Korean
author in the world. But how many of his works which mostly deal with
Korean history or abstruse philosophy have been read globally?

Korean
bestsellers are stories inspired by nationalistic and historic subjects
but when it comes to the overseas market, it is totally different.

A
few successful cases such as Shin Kyung-sook’s “Please Look After Mom,”
and Kim Young-ha’s “I Have the Right to Destroy Myself” and Jo
Kyung-ran’s “Tongue” show how Korean literary works can go global. All
these works represented by Imprima Korea, a leading literary agency in
the nation, have gained international recognition.

“Psy is a
good example of a cultural export. Familiarity and universality in his
song ‘Gangnam Style’ enabled him to succeed in other countries. Korean
literature should be approached like this. Foreign readers want
contemporary and universal themes,” Terry Kim, COO of the agency, said
in an interview with The Korea Times.

Since opening the doors 20
years ago, the agency has focused on introducing foreign titles into
Korea such as bestsellers “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell, “Cosmos” by
Carl Sagan and “Your Best Life Now” by Joel Osteen.

But from 2005, it began selling the rights of the Korean publications particularly literary works to overseas markets.

After
accumulating the know-how and skills of importing foreign literary
works to Korea, the company knows the tastes of foreign readers.
Historic and nationalistic subjects are shunned the most by foreign
readers.

“Many Korean bestsellers are turning to nationalistic
and patriotic emotions or major historical events such as the Korean
War. But nobody in other countries cares about such stuff,” he said.

Instead,
universal topics that have a close connection to contemporary senses
found in Shin’s novel are the most sought-after items by foreign
literary agents.

But as “hallyu” (the Korean wave) is becoming a
universal phenomenon in the world, some unique elements from the Korean
identity mixed with mystery genre are likely to appeal to foreign
readers as Shin shows in her work.

“Shin’s case is very
meaningful in that it was published through a major publisher (Knopf) of
the United States which is regarded as the largest market with
worldwide networks with the highest price. Once infiltrating into the
U.S., it is easier to make inroads into other parts of the world,” said
Kim. Shin’s novel has been sold in more than 20 countries.

Before
Shin, Kim’s and Jo’s fiction was regarded as pioneering works which
gained positive reviews in the U.S. and European markets in 2005 when
contemporary Korean literature was almost unnoticed in the world.

However,
the agent said that it is a pity that now there are few literary pieces
to be introduced in other countries after Shin’s blockbuster hit. “The
domestic publication market is now suffering from the lack of
bestselling literary works like Shin’s novel. But at the same time, we
might fail to discover hidden literary gems due to the current structure
of the publication industry dominated by trendy genres,” he said.

Many
publishers tend to generate similar books such as “healing” essays or
self-help books, from some 10 years ago. “Such a trend seems to hamper
discovering talented authors and quality works. Discovering a good work
here is crucial for exporting literature to other countries,” he said.

Lack of literary translators

As
many critics point out numerous times, finding skillful translators is
the most daunting task particularly when it comes to translating
literary works than any other genres. “It is obvious that if Koreans,
even if they are superb in English, translate literary works into
English, it seems very awkward to read for English-speaking readers. It
is best for native English speakers who have a good command in Korean to
translate them,” he said.

Japan has a translation agency with a
large pool of veteran translators but Korea lags behind in training
literary translators. There are only a handful of experienced literary
translators such as Kim Chi-young who worked on Shin’s and Kim’s novels.

“Even
if there is a good story, if not properly translated, it can’t be sold
from the start. Even just the rough draft translation for the
introduction of the book is very crucial to appeal to the foreign
agency,” he said.

Role of literary agency

When
exporting literary rights to other countries, the agency plays a key
role in representing authors and their works for foreign counterparts.
In Korea, the literary agency is less known as many publishers are doing
this with their in-house teams.

However, it is important to use
a local literary agency to gain access to worldwide networks and to
protect the rights of authors.

“By individual, Koreans are
extremely well-performing in various fields. But most of them are
unnoticed because the system doesn’t support them well. We are helping
them gain the right appreciation both at home and abroad,” he said.

Kim
said that this job is already well-known in other advanced countries
but in Korea it is beginning to be noticed since Shin’s novel. “This is a
promising job in the future as Korean literature has yet to be well
known to other countries,” he said.

The agency not only
introduces established authors to overseas markets but also discovers
potential or rising authors and helps them debut on the world stage.

Now
the company is preparing to make rising author Yoon Seo-jeok’s work
debut in the foreign markets. Yoon’s “Seoulite Affair” is set in the
nation’s capital and the plan is to make it into a film first.

Samsung has vowed to top its rival Apple in the tablet PC
market this year as it unveiled its latest model at the Mobile World
Congress, which kicked off on Monday in Barcelona, Spain

Shin
Jong-kyun, the head of Samsung's mobile communications business,
expressed his confidence in becoming the market leader in tablet PCs and
smartphones at a press conference on Sunday.

"The Galaxy Note
8.0 to be unveiled at this year's MWC embodies productivity and
portability," Shin said. "As we diligently pursue innovation and new
technology, the day will come when we become No. 1 in tablet PCs just as
we are in smartphones."

Last year, Samsung sold just 16.6 million tablets compared to 65.7 million for Apple.

The
Galaxy Note 8.0 weighs just 338 grams and comes with an eight-inch
screen, about the same as the iPad Mini's 7.85-inch display. It also has
rounded edges to differentiate itself from the iPad in terms of design.

Models pose with Samsung Electronics' latest tablet PCs and
smartphones at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona on Sunday, a day ahead of the
opening of the Mobile World Congress. /Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

LG Electronics vice president Park Jong-suk also proclaimed a
bold goal for his company. "We sold 8.4 million smartphones during the
fourth quarter last year, and our goal is to sell 10 million every
quarter this year," he said.

LG saw its profit shift into the
black for the first time in three years in 2012 after expanding the
production of fourth-generation LTE smartphones and cutting low-tech
phones.

Meanwhile, Samsung decided to scrap its own operating
system known as Bada. Instead, the company said it will focus on the
Tizen OS that is being developed jointly with Intel.

"The Bada
2.0 will mark the end of our operating system project," Hong Won-pyo,
president of media solutions at Samsung, told reporters at the MWC. "It
will be terminated when Tizen is released."

Bada was launched in 2010 to compete with Google's Android and Apple's iOS but never gained momentum.

Monday, February 25, 2013

German
fans sing along to Korean singer Kim Joon-soo at his concert in
Oberhausen, Germany, last month. Extending the boom for Korean pop
culture, commonly referred to as “hallyu,” and firmly establishing
cultural products as export items have been identified as a policy
priority by Park Geun-hye, who will be sworn in as president today.
Korea Times

While
pursuing an economic powerhouse in the last few decades, Korea has
longed for international recognition for its cultural achievements.

As
far as overseas recognition is concerned, incoming president Park
Geun-hye has it easier than her predecessors. Through the YouTube
sensation Psy's "Gangnam Style" video, the hallyu sweep has entered a
period of rejuvenation. In various areas of culture such as fashion,
classical music, literature, Koreans are making a name for themselves on
an international level.

Park arrives at Cheong Wa
Dae today with an array of policy goals for advancing the nation, and
cultural development is one of them. In particular, sustaining the
popularity of hallyu and expanding it beyond Asian borders will be a key
cultural agenda for the incoming administration.

Supporting creative industries

While
Park has remained almost silent on cultural affairs, she is mindful of
the increasing role of the economic value of cultural exports as well as
culture’s role in promoting Korea’s image abroad.

During
an appearance at the screening of the 3D film “Pororo: The Racing
Adventure" last month, she expressed her intention to place more support
for bringing innovation, creativity and wealth to the cultural sector.

She
met with industry leaders and university students majoring in animation
before the screening of the film version of animated TV series “Pororo
the Little Penguin.”

“Watching the growth of Pororo
over the years, I have come to have great hopes for our creative
industries,” Park said during opening remarks at the meeting.

Pororo
has also become a symbol of hope for the local animation industry,
which has yet to produce globally-popular characters. In the last
decade, the TV series has been exported to more than 120 countries. The
film will open in 6,000 theaters in China in late January, becoming the
most widely-released foreign animated film there.

“One
of my pledges as a presidential candidate was to promote cultural
industries, including animation, as a new growth engine for our country,
and I will try to realize my word," Park added.

For
this, Park has pledged that she will work on expanding national budget
for cultural projects and investments. Many experts in the field have
pointed out that the chronic problem with implementing cultural policy
objectives has been budgetary limitations.

Her
administration will seek measures to allocate 2 percent of the national
budget to culture, according report of Park’s major policy goals
released on December, 2012. Currently, around 1.14 percent of the
national budget is spent on culture.

Park's nominee
for culture minister is Yoo Jin-ryong, a former vice culture minister
whose key achievement is the establishment of the Korea Creative
Contents Agency.

Diversifying hallyu sources

As a recent state survey indicates, there are many who believe that the popularity of hallyu faces an uncertain future.

Around
66 percent of 3,600 respondents in nine countries (China, Japan,
Taiwan, Thailand, U.S., Brazil, France, U.K. and Russia) said that the
popularity of Korean culture will subside in the next four years.

To
assuage concerns about the longevity of hallyu, the Park administration
is expected to focus on diversifying it, so that relatively unknown
areas such as Korea’s fashion, literature and traditional tourism assets
can be more promoted outside the nation.

As a
record number of foreign tourists in the final year of the Lee Myung-bak
administration visited Korea, the culture ministry is likely to keep
its drive to promote tourism under Park’s presidency. Park's nominee for
secretary of cultural affairs is Mo Chul-min, a career bureaucrat and a
tourism expert.

One of the top policy goals of the
culture ministry has been to transform Korea in to a pleasant and
visitor-friendly destination for foreign visitors. The number of
tourists visiting Korea last year surpassed 10 million in November, for
the first time ever.

Park’s policy report reiterates
its commitments to advancing the nation’s tourism by increasing
infrastructure and undertaking better maintenance of traditional tourism
assets across the nation, many of which are Buddhist-related relics.

Closing cultural gaps

The
Park administration will keep working on closing the cultural gap
between Seoul and the rest of the country, particularly the economically
backward parts of Jeolla Provinces.

To elevate
Korea's status as a cultural leader in Asia, mega cultural
infrastructure such as the Asian Culture Complex in Gwangju will open in
2014.

Park has also promised more support for
professional artists and institutions, and to develop the unique
cultural assets of provinces and rural areas as tourist attractions.

Models
hold up Samsung Electronics’ new mobile devices, including the Galaxy
Note 8.0, left, at its booth at Fira Gran Via at the Moile World
Congress Barcelona, Sunday.
/ Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

LG to display full range of handsets in to stay alive at MWC

BARCELONA
- Samsung Electronics said Sunday that it will showcase its new Galaxy
Note 8.0 tablet at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) that starts in
Barcelona, Spain, Monday.

At the world’s biggest mobile trade
show, the Korean technology giant will also unveil enterprise handsets
and wireless solutions, two areas where it has recently shown aggressive
pushes.

Touting an 8-inch screen, the firm said that the latest entry into Samsung’s popular Note series also has a titular stylus.

It
operates on Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2, powered by a 1.6 gigahertz
quad-core processor, has 2 gigabytes of RAM and supports internal memory
up to 32 gigabytes and has a 4,600 milliamp hour battery.

Samsung
said it has also strengthened multitasking ability by supporting dual
windows, where users can upload two screens at once, compared to
previous tablets.

It will have a liquid crystal display (LCD),
not its active-matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) ones
reserved for flagship devices, indicating that the firm is aiming more
at keeping Apple’s tablet line at arm’s length rather than increasing
sales.

Models
pose with LG Electronics’ new handsets during a photo session at Fira
Gran Via, the main venue of this year’s Mobile World Congress in
Barcelona, Spain, Sunday.
/ Courtesy of LG Electronics

It
also indicates that Samsung wants to secure some revenue for its LCD
division, which is suffering from a lack of demand against
better-quality displays.

“The Galaxy Note 8.0 is another
innovative device that has increased portability while aiming for a
large screen,” said Samsung’s mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun in a
statement. “With the Galaxy Note 8.0 as the spearhead, we will lead the
global tablet market with a variety of products.”

The world’s
largest electronics maker by revenue will also unveil enterprise phones _
the Galaxy Grand and Galaxy Express. A waterproof outdoor phone called
Galaxy Xcover 2 and the design-oriented Galaxy Fame and Galaxy Young
will also be displayed at the firm’s booth.

It shows that Samsung
is not done milking the popularity of its Galaxy series as well as
boasting its massive manufacturing prowess, aimed at cementing its
market share in total handset volume.

It will also hold a developers’ day on Wednesday to try and enliven its currently non-existent ecosystem.

Other attractions include mobile solutions and network equipment, which aim to challenge Nokia and Ericsson.

The theme of Samsung’s booth is “People Inspired Innovation” at Hall 3 of the Fira Gran Via.

LG goes all out to stay relevant

LG
Electronics has suffered two difficult years partly because of its late
entry into smartphones but aims to prove that it is still alive at the
mobile trade show.

It said Sunday that it will unveil a wide variety of new handsets, represented by the G, F, L and Vu series.

The
highlight is the 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro “phablet,” a device that blurs
the line between a smartphone and a tablet, the titular phone in its
high-end G series.

The phablet was launched in Korea last week
but will be released in other markets by the second half of the year.
The MWC will be an important opportunity for LG to judge initial
reactions from an international audience.

The electronics maker
has said it is looking to move 10 million of its flagship Optimus G
series and positive reviews will be imperative for its long-term
marketing plan.

The previously launched Optimus Vu and Optimus Vu
II tablets and up to 80 budget and mid-ranged phones will be displayed
at the company’s booth in Hall 1.

In a statement LG highlighted
user experience for its phones, especially its multitasking Q-slide
feature on smartphones, and a large amount of long-term evolution (LTE)
patents.

Monday, February 18, 2013

About disappearing jobs

Baek Chun-tae paints a mural of a film. The painter lost his stancedue to the rising multiplex theaters and the actual images which replaced the old-style cinema artwork from the 1990. / National Folk Museum of Korea

Books published on different kind of extinction

The Uiseong Seong-gwang Match Manufacturer which was established in 1954 is the onlyremaining firm of its kind in Korea.

Dye expert Lee Byung-chan

By Chung Ah-young

No jobs seem to be permanent.

Jobs
that flourished once would eventually disappear, leaving behind
confounded workers. To shed light on this, in a cultural aspect, the
National Folk Museum of Korea has recently published three books
featuring jobs ? match manufacturing, wall painting, dyeing and
traditional fishing.

The books are ?Uiseong Seonggwang Match
Manufacturer and Playhouse Wall Painter Baek Chun-tae ? Jobs That Are
Being Lost,? ?The Dye Expert Lee Byung-chan?s 30 Years Life for Dyeing?
and ?Traditional Fishing Techniques and Fishermen of the East Sea.?

?Uiseong
Seong-gwang Match Manufacturer and Playhouse Wall Painter Baek Chun-tae
? Jobs That Are Being Lost? features the match manufacturing company,
which is the only remaining firm of its kind in Korea, and the life of a
theater signboard painter.

The company was first established in
Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province in 1954 in the aftermath of the
devastating Korean War (1950-1953). It was the only factory in the
region where agriculture was the primary economic activity, and thus
offering jobs to the young. The company flourished in the 1970s and the
?80s in the hey days of industrialization.

But in the late
1980s, the advent of heating and cooking systems and wide use of
disposable lighters spelt the industry?s decline. The number of
employees shrank to 11 in 2012, from the peak of 270 in the 1970s. The
book illustrates the brief history of the company, the processing tools
and the changes of the lives of its workers. The book also
highlights Baek Chun-tae, a theater mural painter who lost his stance
due to the rising multiplex theaters and the actual images replacing the
old-style theater artwork from the 1990s.

Lee Byung-chan’s works dyed with native plants

Baek
gave up college because of financial difficulty and started working at a
theater as an assistant painter in Incheon, west of Seoul. At that
time, the job was fascinating as the signboard art actually determined
the success of the films in the 1960s-70s. And each theater had its
own style. In southern part of the nation such as Busan, film posters
and signboards featured rough brush touches while dark and subduing
colors dominated the painting styles in Gwangju and Jeonju regions.
Undoubtedly, Seoul was the center of the mural painting styles in
fineness and aesthetics.

So he decided to learn painting in
Seoul at the age of 22. In Seoul, a hub for culture and art, he worked
in Jungang Theater. His debut work in Seoul was the signboard painting
of the American film ?Madame X? and then he moved to Dansungsa, the
first movie theater in Korea. In Dansungsa, Baek reached his peak by
generating numerous paintings of films which ended up being big
successes. However, after a 40-year career, he faced a crisis as the
multiplex theaters sprang up and real images replaced the paintings in
the 1990s. With the last piece in 2000, Baek left Seoul and went to
Danyang, North Chungcheong Province in 2002. He said that at that time,
he couldn?t endure such a drastic change in Seoul where his paintings
were very common displays on the signboards of theaters.

?The
Dye Expert Lee Byung-chan?s 30 Years Life for Dyeing? portrays the life
of Lee Byung-chan who has devoted her life to dyeing using natural
ingredients. The book is based on her individual case as a special
professional that has conducted dyeing experiments over the last 30
years.

?In traditional society, dyeing was mostly done in
houses. But in the modern times it has almost disappeared. Lee has tried
to recover the dyeing tradition with her own efforts using native
plants,? Park Hye-ryeong, curator of the museum, said. Her founding and
dyeing tools were donated to the museum as she couldn?t sustain the job
anymore.

?Traditional Fishing Techniques and Fishermen of the
East Sea? introduces fishermen who caught pollack and gathered seaweed
in a traditional way on the East Coast, which was a major means of
living in the region in the past. But from the 20th century, the two
fishery techniques have been rapidly declining.

Collecting
seaweed has two different methods ? by divers and from a boat. The
seaweed gathered by divers is still used in many parts of the nation but
the on-the-boat technique is rarely used lately.

Pollack has
been one of the most favorite fish for Koreans. But the amount caught
inshore has dramatically decreased beginning in the 1990s. The book
documents traditional skills and tools through interviews with fishermen
who worked in the mid and late 20th century.

Hot
pink has been spotted on actresses Yun Eun-hye, far left, and Soh
Yi-hyun, left, who appear in popular television dramas “I Miss You” on
MBC and “Cheongdamdong Alice” on SBS.

NARS
Schiap Lipstick, above, one of the best items, brings a bright pink
to the lips with semi-matte finish.
/ Courtesy of Han PR

Tired of the classic red, isn't it ?

The
good news is that an alternative hue has emerged: hot pink. As if to
mock the cold, the color brings a more flirty and playful feel,
especially around the year-end party season.

The color has been
spotted on such celebrities as actresses Yun Eun-hye and Soh Yi-hyun who
appear in popular television dramas “I Miss You” on MBC and
“Cheongdamdong Alice” on SBS, and countless other stars have been
wearing variations of it. The two play upper-class women who opt for
bright, hot pink lips, often to offset a chic, monochromatic outfit.

“One
point makeup, which focuses on one part of the face, is a growing trend
that will go on till next season, and hot pink lipsticks are surely one
of the best ways,” said celebrity makeup artist Lee Kyung- min
Wednesday in a telephone interview.

It’s
pretty simple to pull off hot pink lipstick, even for those who are not
particularly familiar with makeup tools, and it’s an investment
everyone will make good use of it till next spring.

Except for
the lips, everything else should be kept to a minimum, which means the
eyes and skin should look as natural as possible.

“Make sure
your eye makeup is subdued and not competing with bright pink lips. So I
suggest you try mascara without liner or trade dramatic shadows for
neutral colors that blend with the skin tone,” said the beauty expert
who runs a makeup studio in Cheongdam-dong in southern Seoul.

Skipping
lip liner will give the lips a more youthful appearance. Apply the
color on the back of the hand before applying it to the lips with a
brush, which will give a subtler effect. For those who want to enlarge
the look of the lips, it’s better to apply a bit of dewy gloss in the
center of the lower lip.

Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro504 Courtesy of L’Oreal Korea

The
overall styling matters as well. The look shouldn’t be too matching so
the hot pink lipstick can be too much if the same color is worn from
head-to-toe. It should be used as an accessory to pull together outfits
like a little black dress.

However, some women with darker skin
tones are still afraid of trying hot pink lipsticks because they believe
it might look tacky.

“Some of us think hot pink only looks good
on fair-skinned people, but that’s wrong. The color of your lips is more
important when deciding which color to put on them than the natural
skin tone,” said Lee. “Everyone has different colored lips so don’t
forget to try the color on your lips, not on your hand before you buy
lipsticks. You will see the color more clearly.”

Among the wide
variety of shades out there, NARS’s Schiap Lipstick is one of the best.
The product brings a bright, fuchsia-pink with a semi-matte finish. It
also has a slightly glossy sheen that keeps the lips from drying out
while keeping the true color. The product has been one of the most
popular makeup items since it was featured in the two previously
mentioned TV dramas.

Other cool products to try include Giorgio
Armani Lip Maestro 504, a liquid lipstick that is also available in 11
other colors, and Chanel Rouge Allure Le Rouge Intense 93 Exaltee. For
those wanting a softer look, Dior Addict Lip Glow is ideal. It’s not
exactly a lipstick and more towards a color-awakening lip balm that
reacts to the moisture level of the lips that makes them appear
rejuvenated, fresh and shiny.

Pavilion
of Life and Beauty of the Osong Cosmetics & Beauty Expo shows the
variations in the meaning of beauty, providing a space for directly
reproducing makeup skills.

Osong fair aims to lay ground for spreading bio culture

Governor of North Chungcheong Province Lee Si-jong also serves as co-chairman of OrganizingCommittee for Osong Cosmetics and Beauty Expo

Amid
the growing popularity of hallyu (Korean wave), a local provincial
government will host a massive cosmetics and beauty fair from May 3
until May 26.

The organizing committee for the
Cosmetics and Beauty Expo aims to attract around a million visitors,
70,000 of which it hopes will be from overseas.

It
is to be held in Osong, North Chungcheong Province and will also seek to
induce interest from some 300 companies, domestic and foreign, and up
to 2,000 buyers.

The event’s overall theme, “Healthy
Bio, Beautiful Life,” is the only exposition of this type acknowledged
by the government, international associations and organizations. The
Korea Food and Drug Administration, Cheongju City and Cheongwon County
will co-host the expo to be sponsored by several government ministries.

Pavilion of Hallyu Culture displays style and beauty throughout Korean history alongside the everyday lives of Koreans.

Provincial
governor Lee Si-jong and former health and welfare minister Kim
Hwa-joong are co-chairs of the organizing committee. Lee and other
officials plan to visit China, Japan and Southeast Asian countries to
engage in public relations efforts there next month, because the region
accounts for more than 80 percent of all foreign tourists.

The
organizing committee plans to invite officials and artistic performers
from 12 countries in 22 regions that have sisterhood relations with the
province to jointly host cultural, artistic and sports events during the
fair.

“We plan to actively participate in various
international trade fairs to engage in PR efforts for the Osong expo
with the goal of raising the cosmetics and beauty industries as a
strategic field on the occasion of the incoming event,” said Lee
Woo-jong, director in charge of trade and economic affairs at the
provincial government.

The nation’s cosmetics,
equipped with high quality, diverse products, have been leading the
global trend. The cosmetics market here grew to $7.9 billion in 2011
from 4.9 billion in 2006, registering an annual growth rate of 10.4
percent on average.

General view of the site of Osong Cosmetics and Beauty Expo

The
nation’s cosmetic industry, composed of bio technologies such as
oriental medicine and stem cells and advanced nano and information
technology, has emerged as a key future growth engine for Korea, along
with the beauty industry.

“We aim to promote the
region as a hub for K-beauty, one of main themes of hallyu in time for
the expo,” said Nam Kil-woo, in charge of PR affairs for the committee.

The
expo might succeed in attracting more foreign visitors given the
increasing popularity of hallyu. In particular, Myeongdong in central
Seoul, has surfaced as a symbolic marketplace for Korean cosmetics and
beauty-related products, bustling with foreign visitors throughout the
year.

North Chungcheong Province has emerged as a
new center of bio industry accommodating some 60 leading cosmetics
companies such as LG House and Health Care. Osong is also home to six
national institutes – the Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA),
the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation (NIFDS), the
Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), the Korea Human
Resource Development Institute for Health and Welfare (KOHI), the Korean
National Institute of Health (HIH) and the Korea Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (DCD).

Osong also has optimal transportation conditions such as the KTX Osong Station and Cheongju International Airport.

Themed
exhibitions will provide information about the significance of beauty
throughout history. The industrial exhibitions will provide
opportunities for trade between domestic and foreign companies in high
technology cosmetic and beauty products. The interpretation and
reverence for different forms of beauty in many countries as well as
beauty as defined in Korea will be exhibited.

The
“World Beauty Pavilion” displays variations in the meaning of beauty as
seen throughout history and culture. It also provides space to directly
reproduce the makeup techniques of beauties from the past.

The
“Beauty Innovation Pavilion” will display the development of cosmetic
science and technology driven by the continuing desire for beauty, and
shows the future and vision of the bio-cosmetics & beauty industry.

The
promotion of products and sales of participating cosmetic and beauty
businesses will be held in the Industrial Exhibition Pavilion. These
halls will display finished cosmetic products, raw materials, equipment
and other related beauty commercials goods.

The
“Beauty Market” is a venue at which the participating cosmetic beauty
businesses can promote their products. Visitors to the expo can buy new
products from various enterprises at affordable prices.

The
“Korean Culture Pavilion” will display the style and beauty of
tradition that has been created and maintained during 5,000 years of
Korean history. It will display the everyday lives of Koreans through
various episodes as a space in which to find simple but stylish beauty.

The
expo will feature a variety of performances, events and contests in
which visitors can participate and enjoy around the clock. Top body
painting groups from around the world will participate in the ‘World
Body Performance,’ providing a splendid show.

Besides
the exhibition, a series of special events including domestic and
international seminars and academic conferences such as the ISO/TC217,
which be held on May 3 and May 26.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Not mainstream yet, but vegetarian diet attracts health, environment-conscious eaters around the world.

Although, for we Indian vegetables are abundant and people enjoy platters made by colorful and healthy vegetables rather than red or white meats. “These
days, people know what vegetarianism is, one can call a Chinese
restaurant and ask for black bean sauce noodles with only onions and
sauce,“When one goes to a restaurant, one can ask for dishes
to be made without meat and people do not react negatively to such
requests.”

Yi also believes perceptions of vegetarians have shifted.

If
six to seven years ago vegetarians were seen as somewhat extreme, now,
in Yi’s opinion, vegetarians are seen in a positive light.

People, according to Yi, see vegetarians as healthy and environmentally conscious individuals.

The
positive attitude towards the vegetarian diet seems to be due, in part,
to Korea’s “well-being” and “healing” trends, both of which have fueled
societal interest in health.

“Among the masses, health is still
the biggest impetus behind interest in vegetarianism,” said cable
channel Olive team head Seo Won-ye. “I think people are interested in
vegetarianism for their own health, for dieting, for digestive reasons
or to change their physical constitution.”

Seo added that “people are very interested in vegetarianism and detoxification as a means of dieting.”

Some of the vegetarian temple food dishes that are offered at Baru restaurants.(Baru)

Though
the food channel does not devote entire programs to vegetarianism, Seo
said Olive plans to frequently address it in upcoming and new shows like
the revamped “Homemade Cook,” where doctors help provide recipes that
address various health concerns.

“Vegetarianism is not a minor
phenomenon,” Seo, 36, said over the phone. “We cannot help but touch
upon the subject more frequently.”

Indeed, Olive has addressed
vegetarianism most notably with “Lee Honey Vegan Recipe,” a segment of
its celebrity-fronted cooking program “Food Essay.”

When the
segment aired over a year ago, “people were familiar with the concept of
vegetarianism, but the lifestyle was not widespread,” said Seo.

“We
did our homework and discovered a lot of people were interested in
vegetarianism, so we focused on providing recipes for those just
starting out.”

The segment showcased pescetarian recipes and, according to Seo, the response was good.

“Repeat airings were also well received, and the recipes were especially popular among women in their 20s and 30s.”

Recipes,
it appears, are important to practicing vegetarians in Korea.
Vegetarian magazine Begun also devotes a substantial number of pages to
recipes, partly to provide diverse eats for vegetarians who might be
bored with their current repertoire, said Yi.

Another reason
behind the focus on vegetarian-friendly recipes both on television and
in magazines like Begun might be because vegetarian, particularly vegan,
options are not the norm when eating out.

Yet, even though
vegetarian restaurants are not widespread and vegetarianism is not
mainstream, various signs point to its increased presence in South
Korean society.

In 2010, Seoul National University saw the successful launch of an on-campus vegetarian buffet.

Operated
by the Seoul National University Cooperative, an independent, nonprofit
corporation, the buffet was so popular that a second vegetarian locale
was opened last year.

According to SNU Co-op headquarters
director Lee Gyu-sun, the latest spot, a student restaurant where a
vegetarian menu is provided as one of four menu options, was chosen
because students wanted more access to meat-free meals.

Dongguk
University also has an on-campus vegetarian buffet that opened in 2011.
Operated by major food service company OURHOME, the buffet started off
in a small room.

“During the buffet’s pre-official launch, it was
hard to estimate how many would use it,” OURHOME manager Lee Sang-min
explained via email. “After the pre-launch, there was not enough space
for customers during peak hours so the buffet was moved to a larger
space.”

“Lots of students who are curious about vegetarian
cuisine and who are dieting or concerned about their health use the
buffet,” said Lee, pointing to the possibility that vegetarianism or
“flexitarianism,” otherwise known as semi-vegetarianism, might be
gaining serious momentum, particularly among those who are health
conscious.

According to Lee, this is OURHOME’s first and only
time operating a vegetarian buffet. But after the campus buffet opened,
other cafeteria operations have expressed interest in vegetarian
options, asking OURHOME about the menu, costs and average number of
customers.

Some might say that this is where
vegetarianism-at-large stands. People and businesses are curious about
it but view vegetarianism as unknown territory.

However, the
recent launch of a blind date event for vegetarians by matchmaking
agency Sunoo points to an alternative perspective on vegetarians as a
niche community on the rise.

Approximately four months ago,
Sunoo started holding blind date meetings once every two months for
vegetarians. To date there have been two events where eight to 10 women
were set up with the same number of men. The third event is slated for
mid-March.

According to Sunoo founder and CEO James Lee, eight people have already signed up for the upcoming meeting.

“Response has been great,” Lee, 47, said over the phone.

Lee
explained that a rise in the number of vegetarians starting three to
five years ago was an impetus behind Sunoo’s vegetarian blind dates.

The
agency’s decision to provide blind dates specifically for vegetarians
seems to signal that the vegetarian community has grown significantly.

When
vegetarian magazine Begun put out its first issue two years ago, there
were 40 regular subscribers and around 100 copies were sold at
bookstores in Korea. Now of the 1,200 copies printed, according to
publisher Yi, around 1,000 are sold. That means that within the past two
years, sales have gone up tenfold.

In fact, a pro-vegetarian
community seems to be growing, in keeping with current trends, in an
even more health-conscious direction.

VegeDoctor, an organization
of doctors whose purpose is to promote a vegetarian diet as a healthy
means of eating, was established nearly two years ago, and, according to
Yi, vegetarian mothers who want to raise their children on a meat-free
diet have built up a strong community through the Internet by sharing
research and data on what to feed their children.

The Mobile World Congress, the world's biggest mobile-focused
trade show, starts on Feb. 25 in Barcelona. If the Consumer Electronics
Show in the U.S. and Internationale Funkausstellung in Germany showcase
TVs and home appliances, at the MWC mobile devices take center stage.

Around 1,500 telecoms and handset makers will participate in this year's exhibition.

◆ Bigger Screens

Market
researcher Strategy Analytics cites three trends that will dominate the
exhibition. The first is the disappearing boundary between smartphones
and tablet PCs. Most of the new devices will feature five-inch or larger
screens.

LG Electronics will showcase its Optimus G Pro
smartphone with a 5.5-inch full HD screen. China's Huawei and ZTE will
also introduce smartphones with five- to six-inch screens. More and more
smartphones have bigger screens as their uses go beyond mere mobile
communication and are increasingly being used to watch movies, play
games and search the Internet.

Samsung Electronics will unveil the Galaxy Note 8 with an
eight-inch screen, which is meant to compete with Apple's iPad Mini that
comes with a 7.9-inch screen.

Samsung's strategy is to apply
the "core features" of the popular five-inch Galaxy Note smartphone to a
tablet PC, a company spokesman said. "There are going to some changes
in the tablet PC sector, where Apple has the lead."

Analysts say Samsung came up with the gadget because it needs to boost its miserly share of the global tablet PC market.

◆ Chinese Companies

The
second marked trend is the growing competitiveness of Chinese
smartphone makers. Huawei will introduce the Ascend Mate featuring a
6.1-inch screen, as well as the Ascend P2 and Ascend D2 with five-inch
screens.

ZTE hopes to take the market by storm with its 5.7-inch
Grand Memo. Strategy Analytics said Huawei and ZTE are trying to
improve their technologies in a variety of areas from hardware and
software to services. It also cited Lenovo as a Chinese firm to watch
out for.

The third trend is the transformation in operating
systems. Google's Android OS, which accounts for 70 percent of the
global market, is expected to face serious challenges. Microsoft’s
Windows 8 and Samsung-Intel's Tizen are the key rivals that are
appearing on the horizon. ZTE will showcase the world's first smartphone
equipped with the Mozilla Firefox OS.

◆ Heavyweights

Among
many big industry figures to attend the congress are the CEOs of Korean
telecoms. KT CEO Lee Suk-chae will be the first of them to give the
keynote speech at the MWC. SK Telecom president Ha Sung-min and other
executives are also planning to attend. SK is the only domestic
telecommunications service provider to open a large, independent booth
at the MWC.

The CEOs of Qualcomm, Nokia, Vodaphone, Ericsson and AT&T are also attending to discuss the latest issues in the industry.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

The winter months are often a drab time for fashion as vibrant
colors give way to mournful black. But earth tones such as beige, brown,
and gold can help the fashion-conscious maintain a touch of elegance
and sophistication in the slushy streets.

Beige may not be
eye-catching, but it is a versatile color and easy to wear as it
resembles the color of skin. It is elegant, mellow and luxurious. For a
soft, feminine look, match it with a simple pearl necklace or a beige
watch, and add just one or two bold splashes of color.

Brown represents the earth and is a calm and casual color. It
goes well with yellowish skin tone of Asians, so is ideal for those who
want to look warm and luxurious, especially matched with beige or red.

Gochujang to Be Classified by Spiciness

The Korean food industry has agreed to five standard levels of
spiciness for gochujang, or Korean chili paste, for international
customers.

But Korea's two biggest food companies, CJ and
Daesang, find it difficult to agree on the terminology and unit they
will use. CJ says it will use "medium" for the third level, while
Daesang says it wants to use "moderate." And the two companies are also
debating over whether to use a Scoville unit or PPM, which both measure
the spiciness in a dish

Korea's ginseng are set to become internationally
recognized products. According to the government the traditional
Korean foods have passed seven of the total eight steps of reviews by
the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which defines international food
standards.

Korean chili paste is expected to receive
international protection of its Korean name gochujang. And Korea's
ginseng products will now be exported to more countries as they will no
longer be classified as medicinal products.

The government says the new-found recognition will hopefully lead to people around the world knowing more about Korean food.

Steamed rice is the staple dish in the Korean diet, alongside
rice combined with other grains. A bowl of rice can be eaten in many
ways, sometimes even without side dishes.

Steamed rice in cold
water makes a nourishing kind of porridge. It can also be a filling
snack with just a bit of seasoning such as soy sauce or red chili paste.

A tradition of regarding the main staple dish much more highly than the side dishes continues to this day.

The
culinary custom of dividing a meal into the main rice dish and side
dishes took on a clear class meaning during the Chosun Dynasty. A bowl
of white steamed rice is now the most basic staple rice dish in Korea,
but it used to be a very expensive option for ordinary people as rice
was precious and often more expensive than other grains that they mixed
into the rice with to keep the cost down.

For many of them, a bowl of white steamed rice was served only on special occasions such as birthdays or feast days.

Today, nutritionists appreciate the goodness of steamed rice. It is nutritionally superior to wheat, the staple in the west.

While
both are a rich source of carbohydrates, rice also has good-quality
protein that helps body to digest, and high levels of lysine, one of the
essential amino acids that reduces cholesterol. It also contains
Vitamins B6, D, E, and folic acid.

Many people think of rice
simply as a source of carbohydrates. But when digested in the body, the
carbohydrates in rice turn into glucose and supply energy for the body
and brain to function. Rice has more protein and carbohydrates than
wheat but 3.5 times less fat.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

South
Korea’s Hwang Kyung-Seon celebrates after defending her Olympic women’s
under-67 kilogram title with a victory over European champion Nur Tatar
of Turkey at the London Games last year. Taekwondo, a traditional
Korean martial art, will remain an Olympic sport for the foreseeable
future after surviving the latest scrutiny by the International Olympic
Committee (IOC). /Yonhap

Korean
footballer Park Jong-woo stirred controversy by hoisting a sign that
read in Korean, "Dokdo is our territory,’’ attacking Japan’s historical
claim over the tiny islets, while celebrating Korea’s 2-0 victory over
Japan in the London Olympics bronze medal match last year. The IOC bans
athletes from displays of any political statements and prevented Park
from participating in the medal ceremony. The IOC’s Disciplinary
Commission issued a warning against Park after its meeting Tuesday, but
decided to give the player the medal he had been barred from collecting
for six months.

Taekwondo
will become one of the 25 Olympic core sports on the back of the
International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) final scrutiny, while
Greco-Roman wrestling lost its Olympic status, officials said Tuesday.

London
Olympic national football team defender Park Jong-woo will receive a
long-awaited bronze medal, which had been put on hold after his
controversial celebration at the Games.

With the
decision made at the IOC Executive Board meeting, taekwondo, Korea’s
traditional martial arts, is expected to remain as an Olympic sport
unless “exceptional circumstances,” such as a drug issue or a radical
popularity drop occur according to IOC President Jacques Rogge.

For
the 2020 Summer Olympics, the IOC will decide on a new sport to be
represented with baseball-softball, roller sports, squash, karate, sport
climbing, wushu and wakeboarding competing for an Olympic spot at the
general meeting in Buenos Aires of Argentina in September.

Since
it became an Olympic medal sport in the 2000 Sydney Olympics,
taekwondo’s status has been threatened as it was embroiled with judgment
controversies.

However, with a newly-adopted
electronic scoring system and instant video replays for precise
judgments in London, the sport swept aside such concerns.

Park
had been in a bind after holding up a sign, which read “Dokdo Is Our
Territory,” in the flush of victory. Dokdo are Korea’s easternmost
islets which Japan has also laid claim to.

After the Disciplinary Commission reviewed Park’s action last year, the IOC decided to give him the medal.

“The
IOC gave Park a strong warning,” an official with the Korean Olympic
Committee (KOC) said. “Also, the KOC was told to map out plans to
prevent similar incidents.”

Before the meeting, Park
and his team of attorneys and KOC officials explained his case to
secure the medal. Tension remained until the very last minute as Park
refused to answer questions from reporters, noting that he did his best
to convince the IOC officials.

In December, FIFA suspended Park for two matches and fined him 3,500 Swiss francs ($3,810) as a penalty.

A rendering of the “K-pop Arena” to be built in Goyang by 2016. / Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

A performance venue dedicated to K-pop will be built in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, northwest of Seoul.

The
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Friday that it
selected the city to host the long-desired project for the Korean pop
industry.

The venue, tentatively dubbed “K-pop
Arena” is expected to be completed in late 2016. Once finished, it will
have a main concert hall capable of holding 18,000 and a second venue
with about 2,000 seats.

The ministry and Gyeonggi Province are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding sometime in March.

The
decision was made after the concept was proposed by the Korea Culture
and Tourism Institute and reviewed by music and performing arts experts
as well as academics regarding the size of the lot, accessibility, the
environment and economic viability.

K-pop is a
booming industry with fans from around the world flying in to watch
concerts, and K-pop stars spending months each year performing abroad.
Industry insiders have long called for building such a performance venue
for the further sustainable growth of K-pop and “hallyu” or the Korean
wave.

The
Korean melodrama “Winter Sonata” sparked a frenzy for Korean cultural
products after first airing on Japanese television in 2003.
/ Korea Times file

It
was a decade ago when the Korean melodrama ``Winter Sonata’’ first
reached a Japanese audience through NHK television and triggered a
massive frenzy for Korean cultural products that soon exploded across
Asia and beyond.

Hallyu, or the Korean wave, proved
to be more than just about soap operas as international demand for
Korean films and pop music, or K-pop, has risen sharply in recent years.

Fast
forward to 2013 and the picture surrounding the Korean cultural boom is
entirely different. There’s an irony in that at a time when Korea
celebrates the emergence of its first globally-transcendent entertainer,
“Gangnam Style” rapper Psy, hallyu is facing its most serious challenge
where it all started ― Japan.

The Japanese taste
for Korean cultural products has been affected by the icy diplomatic
relation between the two countries. Things took a turn for the worse
last year when South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made a surprise
visit to Dokdo, the tiny islets Japan argues it has a historical claim
to, and demanded an apology from the Japanese Emperor over the nation’s
wartime atrocities.

Lee’s actions sparked anti-Korea
rallies in front of Tokyo’s Fuji TV, with protestors demanding the
network yank its Korean dramas off the air.

Japanese
satellite channel BS Nippon postponed its plans to air the Korean
drama, ``A Man Called God,’’ which stars Song Il-gook, after the actor
joined dozens of other swimmers in a relay swimming event to Dokdo in
protest of the Japanese claims over the island.

And
last year was the first in several years that no Korean singers were
invited to participate in NHK’s Kouhaku, the famous end-of-year singing
program.

Experts say hallyu is most sensitively affected by political and historical issues especially in neighboring Asian countries.

“We
researched last year how many Japanese people believed hallyu was no
longer culturally relevant in their country. In March, 15 percent of the
400 people surveyed answered hallyu was already moving toward its end.
That percentage jumped to 41 percent by November,’’ said Park Sung-hyun,
a researcher at the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange
(KOFICE).

“We interpreted this result as to be
linked with President Lee’s demand in August last year for the Japanese
Emperor to apologize. It seems that historical and political issues can
have detrimental effects on the consumption of Korean cultural products
abroad.’’ Even Psy’s popularity was lower in Japan than in other
countries in the thick of the Gangnam Style fever.

Although
the strained relations between the two countries are denting the
popularity of Korean cultural products in Japan, other factors are in
play as well, according to Jung Duk-hyun, a pop culture critic.

“The
one-way flow of content and its quality can be reasons why hallyu isn’t
doing so well in Japan. Of course, the tense diplomatic relations is by
far the biggest reason,” Jung said.

He said the
export of cultural content had been lopsided until now with Korean
content flowing in to Japan but not much Japanese content flowing back
to Korea.

“These uneven exports must have cooled
down the Korean wave. Too much Korean content could have offended the
Japanese when theirs didn’t affect Korea. Also, the content of hallyu is
becoming less impressive than when it first began. The K-pop groups
that enter the Japanese market are quite similar and they might be
boring Japanese consumers,” he said.

Park also said,
“K-pop is still popular but Korean TV dramas became less popular due to
their same old melodramatic storyline. Despite famous celebrities like
Jang Geun-suk and Yoona starring, the TV series Love Rain showed low
ratings.”

For hallyu to continue flourishing overseas the quality of it must evolve and the exchange should go both ways.

“Until
now, hallyu was propelled by star power. Famous entertainers led the
trend. But the content was unable to support them. We need to develop
something unique to Korea because from now on, content will define the
path of hallyu,” said Jung.

“We’ve seen from Psy’s
example that one good song can overturn the trend. Just because
something doesn’t succeed in Japan doesn’t mean it can’t do well
elsewhere.”

The content distribution also must go two-way.

“It’s
more important to smoothly progress two-way cultural exchange between
countries instead of the government taking the helm to spread Korean
culture,” said Park.

With the advent of Psy on the
global market, the perception about the hallyu market has changed
drastically in the past year. Until now, Japan and neighboring Asian
countries have been considered major hallyu consumers. Now the market
has expanded to the whole world, as the song first gained popularity in
North America.

But this does not mean the Japanese
market can be overlooked as it is still the biggest consumer of hallyu.
To continue a hallyu presence in Japan, friendly diplomatic relations
seems like a prerequisite though.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Seoul Metropolitan Government wants to crack down on the
cosmetics stores and Chinese-made tat that are taking over the
historical area of Insa-dong and squeezing out traditional businesses.

Some
100,000 tourists visit the picturesque area in downtown Seoul every
day. The enclave is a symbol of traditional Korean culture contrasting
with the gleaming towers of the bustling city. But stores that sell
traditional handicraft have been gradually pushed into smaller alleys as
the main thoroughfare has been taken over by cosmetics shops.

The
owner of a traditional tea room said, "After the area was designated a
cultural zone, the price of real estate and premiums on leases for store
spaces almost doubled. Cosmetics retailers offered appealing prices for
leases and premiums, so the landlords told stores selling traditional
goods to leave."

The number of made-in-China "Korean" handicraft
has also grown. A staffer in a shop that sells high-priced handmade
crafts said, "Around 50 to 60 percent of the products are made in
China." Traders apparently believe that tourists will not know the
difference.

Visitors shop in Insa-dong, Seoul on Monday.

In April 2002, Insa-dong became the first specially designated
cultural zone in Korea. That means the Seoul city government can ban
businesses that can damage the purpose. Seoul city plans to use this
regulation to enact an ordinance prohibiting the sale of low-quality
products manufactured overseas.

It also plans to include
cosmetics stores on the list of businesses prohibited from operating in
Insa-dong. Over the last four years, 11 cosmetics stores opened in
Insa-dong. Already banned are newly booming businesses such as mobile
phone stores and private crammers.

But many are skeptical whether
the measures will enable Insa-dong to regain its identity. One merchant
who has sold traditional handicraft there for over 20 years said, "We
may be able to stop cosmetics stores from opening, but it’ll be
difficult to stop sales of Chinese-made goods. Vietnamese-made products
are even cheaper. Can you stop people from selling them?"

Haha , I enjoyed a lot this K drama at KBS ....and get to know many things about day to day life of the Koreans.

The daughter-in-law,
is portrayed by Kim Nam-joo, and the mother-in-law portrayed by
Yun Yeo-jeong. /
Courtesy of KBS

Wives forced into ‘temporary slavery’ during holidays

The 2012 KBS drama “My Husband Got a Family” dealt with the frustrating relationship between a woman and her mother-in-law.

Around
this time of year, daughters-in-law around the country start to panic
as they travel to their mothers-in-law’s house to feed and serve their
husbands' family members, even dead ones, through the ritual called
"charae."

Major holidays continue to be a cause of stress and
anger for many housewives in Korea. For them, the Lunar New Year
holidays entail an endless series of kitchen chores that husbands rarely
help with.

"Holidays are when many housewives in Korea are made
to feel like maids," said a 35-year-old mother of a girl toddler who
preferred to remain anonymous. "During the years I have been married, it
never occurred to me to have some time to myself or take a vacation
during the 'myeongjeol’ (holiday) season."

Like every year since
2009, she will travel with her family to be with her mother-in-law for
the Lunar New Year. Unlike many Korean families, her in-laws do not
practice charae, a ceremony that involves bowing to deceased ancestors
and offering food and drink prepared for their spirits. But this doesn't
mean her time with the in-laws is stress-free.

"During the
holidays, I feel an unbearable amount of pressure. Even without charae, I
have to prepare all the meals during family gatherings. It's not easy
trying to make huge meals in another person's kitchen."

One
housewife The Korea Times spoke to said she feels sick because of the
stress she endures around this time of the year and other major holidays
such as Chuseok. She said that she normally starts having panic attacks
and headaches a few weeks before the holidays begin.

The mother
of two girls, aged 6 and 7, in Mok-dong, Seoul, also spoke on the
condition of anonymity. She deplored the misfortune of having in-laws
from some of the most conservative parts of the country in Gimcheon,
North Gyeongsang Province.

"For the first three years of
marriage, I traveled to Gimcheon for the holidays and did what I was
told to do, without feeling much resentment," the 40-year-old
stay-at-home mom said. "But then as the years went by, I started to
feel an uncontrollable sense of anger. These holiday visits are a huge
waste of time and money, but unless I intend to divorce my husband,
these visits are an indispensable activity in our marriage," A former
journalist with the economic daily Money Today, she has been married
since 2004.

"It's not so much the kitchen chores that make it so
hard. It's the stress that I feel when I am with my husband's mother and
his siblings," she said.

Normally, the Daegu native is forced
into the kitchen the minute she arrives at her mother-in-law's house,
making heaps of “jeon” (traditional Korean pancake) and other holiday
dishes for family meals and charae. In addition, she has to make side
dishes for drinks that the male members of the family invariably will
have after dinner and clean up after all the meals.

It was
interesting that while these housewives were willing to speak frankly
about their experiences as "holiday maids," they were fearful of having
their names printed in the newspaper.

"Speaking ill of the
in-laws is like spitting on my own face because they are people I have
chosen as my family. That's why in many cases, housewives will not
openly speak ill of them."

One housewife who did give her name had somewhat of a traditional view of a women's holiday duties.

Cheon Yeong-hye, 35, said that she would teach her three girls to be mindful of what it means to be a daughter-in-law.

The banker plans to visit her mother-in-law in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, for the holidays.

"Usually
my mother-in-law prepares most of the holiday meals and I usually just
clean up afterwards. Because I grew up in the conservative Gyeongang
Province, I don't harbor much resentment about these kinds of
activities," the mother of three girls said.

"Korea isn’t a
country that respects daughter-in-laws. But I would still urge my girls
to fulfill their basic duties of a daughter-in-law and refrain from
placing personal comfort before family duty."

So how do mothers-in-law feel about all this?

"Daughters-in-law
are a part of my family and I want all family members to take part in
the holiday celebrations," Yoo In-sook, 65, said. "There is no rule that
says they absolutely have to visit during the holidays. But ideally, a
woman should perceive myeongjeol duties as a part of her obligation as a
daughter-in-law."

The holiday stress is in some cases so extreme that it sometimes leads to divorce.

A
new term "myeongjeol divorce" has been circulating in the media,
referring to the rise in divorce rates in February and March following
the Lunar New Year holidays.